This Celebrity Look-Alike Took TikTok by Storm Overnight

Grace Kroells poses inside an apartment building lobby on Wednesday, April 19. (Antonette Kamara)

Does she look familiar? Grace Kroells knows who you’ll compare her to. Kroells went viral on TikTok in 2020 after posting a side-by-side of her to Lindsay Lohan. 

“I went to bed like thinking nothing of it and then I woke up and it had like 300k views or something, and I was like, what the heck,” said Kroells.

Kroells considers herself more of a content creator rather than an influencer. She makes content because she enjoys it and even gets some fun money out of it.

She said, “I’m not getting paid a ton like some influencers but like, some brands have reached out to me.” 

Set to graduate in a couple weeks, Kroells is a marketing major at the U.

“I think my junior year until now is when I got a little like almost burnt out or discouraged about it because A, I didn’t want to just make like, me sitting next to Lindsay Lohan,” said Kroells.

After she went viral, Kroells noticed people were following her because of her resemblance to Lohan, not for her vibrant personality.

“Dang, these people just like, want me to be, to act like an impersonator or something and like, that was fun and so awesome and I see the resemblance, and I played into it, but also like, its hard to transition your platform into posting different things because they followed you for that kinda niche thing,” said Kroells.

On top of constantly being compared to Lohan, Kroells said that it weighs her down to spend so much time making content, only for it to get no engagement.

“When you’re on a roll like you’re really on a roll, you want to keep making them cause they’re doing well. And then there’s the flip side of if they’re not doing well you don’t want to keep making them,” said Kroells.

There can also be a sense of burnout when you do not go viral which can lead to self-criticism for influencers.

“It kind of feels like you’re competing against yourself cause you’re like, well I’ve had a video go viral before. Like, what am I doing wrong,” said Kroells.

There are also many unrealistic standards online, something Kroells has noticed in her online presence.

“You’re like, woah, like, I don’t wake up at like 6 a.m. I don’t drink a green juice and do this and this,” said Kroells. “The ones that I see on my FYP, it’s like these blonde skinny girls that live in New York that seem to be doing stuff all the time. And they’re tan and their skin’s like, perfect and all this stuff. Their makeup like, they just look on all the time. And I would have like, a shitty day, no makeup on from crying the night before but I’d be like, I guess I’ll try to post a TikTok.”

Grace Kroells takes a selfie inside an apartment building near campus on Wednesday, April 19. (Antonette Kamara)

Kroells’ TikTok, with over 109,000 followers, includes videos of outfits, her relationship, dances and TikTok trends. One thing is apparent from her profile: her positivity and vibrant personality.

Since becoming a content creator on social media, Kroells has noticed her experience helping her with internship and job searching. 

“When I was interviewing for the jobs I said, well I have personal application of, like I’ve done this. I kinda can take an audio, apply it to the brand and make like a fun engaging video,” said Kroells. “So I think that’s my favorite part is kind of catching onto the trends and noticing what’s doing well.”

The strategy involved in becoming viral online is something Kroells loves, and employers look for.

“I think it’s definitely opened like a door for like a new literal profession, because I think like COVID, when a lot of people our age started posting… now they could be making a lot of money,” said Kroells.

Lately she’s been considering restarting her feed as Kroells has noticed fewer views on her videos.

“It was fun while it lasted, but I would need to change how I view it,” said Kroells. “It’s almost like a toxic relationship. You want to portray yourself a certain way, and you have done well in videos on the past, and you’re beating yourself up for not putting in as much effort or not doing as well and it’s just like a cycle.”

“It was a very fun like creative outlet, and just seeing that other people like, resonated with anything or liked it made me feel like I was helping someone in some way, like making someone laugh or inspiring someone … as least as like, a side hustle I hope that I kind of start it up again,” said Kroells.

Her jobs currently involve social media and marketing, but she has thought about becoming an influencer as a career.

“Honestly that was and like, still is in the back of my heart and mind like, kind of a goal,” said Kroells. “Cause when I did realize that I could do that or that other people are doing that it like makes me excited but… it’s a lot of work.”

And it is a lot of work. Kroells has seen recommendations for people to post three to five times a day, if they want to go viral and maintain fame. Kroells is a senior graduating in a few weeks, and she doesn’t have time for that. For now, she posts for fun.

What Began as a Fun Cartoon Character Comparison Turned into a Social Media Opportunity

Hecht enjoys her online presence, and has yet to feel burnout from it.

“I feel very like privileged that I have this opportunity and super lucky and very grateful for it,” said Hecht, “because it’s just fun. It allows you to connect with a lot of people.”

TikTok has helped Hecht in some parts of her Strategic Communications major.

“I’ve gotten a lot of jobs like, outside of TikTok based on my TikTok because I’ve been able to build a platform,” said Hecht. “I currently am helping run social media accounts for a couple restaurants in the area and then during COVID I ran for a few businesses back home.”

As helpful as it has been for her, Hecht does not view influencer marketing and content creation as a stable form of income because of how quickly people can move from going viral to losing views.

Hecht has also had her fair share of negativity from the internet. She had an eating disorder, which she has since recovered from, and received a plethora of bad comments about it.

“People were very negative in the way my body looked and stuff like that. When my comments started to get more negative to me it was a lot of like, what happened to you? You look so sick, you need to go to the doctor, you need to eat. That was the only point in my content career that people were super mean in my comments,” said Hecht.

“Back when it was really bad that was the only think that like people would comment. It’s part of the job I guess, like you have to understand people aren’t gonna like you all the time,” said Hecht.

Hecht says there is no right answer to how social media is impacting Generation Z. She believes that it allows us to be more informed and vocal about our opinions.

Creating Content Before it Was Cool

Lauren Snyder has been in the social media influencing game for almost half of her life. She started it before it became a household name and began on the platform where it’s the most difficult to grow: YouTube. 

Her classmates made fun of her at age 14 for her YouTube channel, mainly because the big personality she expressed online was different than the introverted Lauren that sat in class. She learned her passion when those experiences didn’t turn her away. 

“Looking back, I wish I would’ve never let anything like that phase me,” Snyder said. 

Snyder started making money off of brand deals on YouTube as early as her sophomore year of high school. It was her freshman year of college that her channel started really growing. 

“A lot of people liked my dorm videos, my moving to college and shopping for my dorm. Those videos really started to blow up,” Snyder said, “Then I would do morning routines and college vlogs. People really liked those. When I got out of college and graduated, things got pretty stagnant.”

Snyder said that she likes posting videos mainly to express her creativity, but over the years her motivations and goals have changed. Now that she has built such a large platform and personal brand, she has a community that she is grateful for. 

“I’ve made so many friends through it. The community online that I’ve built, it’s very supportive and engaging,” Snyder said, “Before, I did it purely for the enjoyment of editing and seeing things come to life. Now I’m working a lot more with brands and it’s more of a business.”

However, Snyder said that because social media is constantly changing, it is important for influencers to have a source of income outside of social media. Whether or not it is an income source that can last is all dependent on the influencer’s willingness to adapt constantly to new trends and post fresh and exciting content. 

“That’s what I’d say to anybody who’s looking to be an influencer is that you need to have a unique thing that you bring to the platform because it is so oversaturated,” Snyder said, “What is it that would set you apart? I think that in order for social media to be a viable income that will last, you always need to have something new and fresh going on because it’s going to keep your viewers engaged and the more engagement that you have, the more brands are going to want to work with you.”

Snyder said that it’s almost important to get breaks from social media and not let it be your one and only source of fulfillment. 

“Social media in general can be very taxing at times in terms of constantly being online, feeling imposter syndrome, or comparison a lot. Probably the #1 thing I deal with a lot is comparison,” Snyder said, “I get in ruts sometimes where I don’t feel like sharing my content. I don’t feel like sharing my life because maybe I’m feeling off or I’m comparing a lot of my numbers with other people’s, because it truly is like a numbers game. So many people do it and it has become extremely competitive.”

Snyder said that anyone can be a social media influencer, regardless of where you live depending on the type of content that you want to produce. 

“People are going to follow you regardless of where you live if you have a good personality, if you have a cool vibe to you, or if you are sharing valuable things people are going to want to follow along.”

Courtesy of Lauren Snyder

“Years ago, I followed people because i would idolize their lives and they were in LA or New York,” Snyder said, “I think that if i had been living in California my videos could have, aesthetically, looked a lot cooler, but i think present day it truly doesn’t matter where you live it matters what you bring to the table.”

Snyder said that on the flip side, living in smaller cities can be a unique opportunity in terms of being a big fish in a small pond and working with local businesses. 

Because many of Snyder’s most popular videos revolve around her lifestyle, she ultimately made the decision to move to Tampa, Florida post-graduation from the University of Minnesota in 2021. She found the warmer weather provided her with more content creation opportunities.

Snyder is very aware of the impact social media has had on her life as well as the lives of other people who fall in generation Z. She said that the biggest issues are comparison and overconsumption, which she even notices in herself.

“It has definitely caused a lot of people to feel like they’re lacking something because there’s always something to be had,” Snyder said, “There’s always going to be a new trend and it almost feels like you have to constantly keep up with it. It’s not only draining the wallet, but it’s also draining mentally.”

There is no doubt that having your livelihood depend on the latest trend can cause lots of stress and feelings of pressure for social media influencers. Fortunately for Snyder, she will continue to have her positive outlook and healthy lifestyle keep her from falling down the rabbit hole of social media creeping in and affecting mental health. 

Coming to you via YouTube and Instagram from Tampa, Florida, Snyder is ecstatic about the platform she has built and the future of her career. With vlogs, morning routines, and emotional health chat videos being just the tip of the iceberg of Snyder’s hard work, it’s safe to say she has this “influencing” thing figured out.